Pedraza can bring excitement to all Puerto Rican fans

NEW YORK, June 3, 2013 - Highly touted Puerto Rican boxer Jose "Sniper" Pedraza (12-0, 8 KO’s) is ready to return to the ring after defeating veteran Mexican Gerardo Zayas by TKO in the first round last February in Puerto Rico.

Pedraza is fighting Mexico’s Sergio Villanueva (25-2-2, 13 KOs) on Saturday, June 8, as part of an HBO Latino special broadcast starting at 12:15am ET (Sunday) at the Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. "This is another great opportunity to showcase my God-given talent to those watching on HBO," said Pedraza. "My goal is to come out victorious and use superior boxing skills to defeat my opponent. I’m looking forward to giving the fans a fan-friendly fight."

"Pedraza is a special fighter who can bring excitement to all Puerto Rican fans around the world," said Gary Shaw. "He’s gaining great experience each time he steps in the ring. He’s got a bright future."

"We are very pleased that Pedraza is having great exposure on June 8, in Canada. He will impress the fans in attendance and those watching on TV because Pedraza is one of the best technically pure professional boxer you’ll ever see, and he’s also getting stronger with each fight," said Javier Bustillo, President of Universal Promotions.

"It’s great that Jose Pedraza has an opportunity to showcase his talents on HBO Latino in a tough matchup against Sergio Villanueva. We expect big things from Jose," said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment.

In 2011, Pedraza captured the WBC Youth super featherweight champion over African Herbert Quartey by way of technical knockout in the fifth round.

During his amateur boxing career, Pedraza represented Puerto Rico in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and won a gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010. He won silver medals at the 2009 World Championships in Milan and at the 2010 Pan American Games in Ecuador, among other achievements.

Pedraza is a member of "Team Puerto Rico", which is a collaboration between Gary Shaw Productions, DiBella Entertainment and Universal Promotions, made with the goal of gathering the best of Puerto Rico’s boxing talents.

This boxing event will be headlined by WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson facing Adonis Stevenson and co-featured by Yuriorkis Gamboa against Darley Perez in a 12-round lightweight bout. Both fights will be televised live on HBO BOXING AFTER DARK® beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.